Manhattan and Cumbria - they have so much in common the Gnome has to tell you about it...

Tuesday, April 11

Milky Way and Mars

The Gnome has always considered the Mars bar a solid, reliable confectionary item. It's long-term advertising slogan of 'a Mars a day helps you work, rest and play' summed it all up nicely. It was reliable. Proud. Traditional. And, most importantly, suitably stodgy. Nobody ever finished a Mars bar and felt they could eat another until such time as they had completed another round of working, resting and/or playing.

The Milky Way on the other hand was the effete dilletante. Its mother-friendly advertising of 'the sweet you can eat between meals without ruining your appetite' did it no favours in the Gnome's mind. It suggested the Milky Way was an ephemeral pleasure at best, not to be trusted to satisfy a true chocolate craving. And anyway... what was the point of spending your pocket money on purchasing a chocolate bar your mother approved of?

So why the ruminating on childhood memories of chocolate bars, the Gnome hears you ask of him? Well, did you know that in the US, what the UK considers a Mars bar is known as a Milky Way?

Among the many things the Gnome has had to get used to in the States, the thought that eating a Milky Way of all things is the best way to satisfy an afternoon sugar craving has been one of the hardest to accept...